Just a Servant
by IamSherlocked1895
Summary: Some servants, according to a few rather violent knights, need to be taught their place, and Merlin certainly doesn't seem to know his. When Arthur finds his manservant on the floor in the middle of the hall one night, how will he react? I know it's been done, but I'm a sucker for protective Arthur.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: So, this is the standard "Knights picking on Merlin" story. I don't see any exciting plot twists in the future, but we'll see where it goes. Most likely a two-shot.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin. **

It is too much for the servant. The beatings from the knights coupled with the death of Lancelot had sucked the light from the young warlock's eyes. He hadn't told anyone, not even Gaius, and he could feel the pressure building inside him more and more each day. Will. Balinor. Lancelot. Freya...

So many dead. So many he could have saved. As Sirs Kay and Robert kick and kick and kick at him that night, all Merlin can see is Lancelot's face as the beast ripped him in half. It's his fault, all his fault.

When the knights finally stop, laughing and leaving him with "I hope you learned your lesson today, but probably not", he takes a minute to breathe. He gasps on the corridor floor and tries to ignore the pain in his ribs. He knows how conspicuous he is here, but everything hurts too badly to move and he'll only be a minute, anyway, so he continues to lie there and hopes that nobody will see him before he can pull himself together.

No such luck. Merlin has only just started to recover when Arthur rounds the corner. "Merlin?" The alarm in his voice is evident, and the King is by his servant's side in an instant, sitting on his haunches and gripping the man's shoulder tightly. "Merlin, what's happened?"

"Nothing," Merlin coughs into his hand. He makes a point of sitting up, and clears his throat before starting again in a much clearer voice. "It's nothing. I tripped, is all."

Arthur's grip tightens almost imperceptibly on his shoulder. "_Mer_lin."

The sorcerer notes the blood on the hand he coughed into. Damn. He will not be able to explain himself out of this one so easily. "It was a large trip," he says, as if that makes sense.

"Merlin. Tell me who did this to you." The King's eyes blaze with an odd mixture of anger and worry, but his voice remains steady. Calm. Serious.

"No one, Sire, I told you, I tr-"

"Tell the truth." Arthur's fingers are positively digging into Merlin's shoulder by this point. Merlin doesn't want him to know what the knights are doing to him nearly every night - there is something inherently humiliating in his beatings, in his utter lack of defense. And further, Arthur could easily make it much worse by trying to say something to Kay and Robert.

So Merlin only averts his eyes and shakes his head at his master.

"Look at me." The King has both hands on the servant's shoulders, and he stares at the man until he meets his eyes. "If somebody's hurting you, I want to know. Nobody has the right to treat you this way."

Merlin is not a coward, not so cowed by his attackers that he will not speak; it is the idea that he cannot protect Arthur that holds his tongue. Instead of a witty retort or casual dismissal, as he would have liked, Merlin says, "It's nothing I can't handle, sire."

"Obviously not," Arthur snorts, his concern momentarily overridden. "Come on, then, let's get you to Gaius. You can tell me on the way."

Merlin allows the King to haul him to his feet and nearly collapses as a fresh wave of pain crashes against his ribs. At least one is broken, then, which is unfortunate. Arthur supports him, and they begin the long hobble back to Gaius's chambers.

oooooOOOOOOooooo

Arthur's night had been going relatively well until he rounds a corner to find his manservant curled into a ball on the corridor floor.

Whatever the idiot has done, it looks serious, and Arthur does not hesitate in dropping to his side. He doubted they were under attack, but judging by the gasping and coughing emanating from the servant, Merlin hadn't gotten this way on his own. "Merlin? What's happened?"

"Nothing," Merlin manages as he coughs profusely into his hand, and as he pulls away Arthur can see blood staining his fingers. This is most certainly not nothing.

Merlin sits shakily and ends up leaning against the wall in a manner Arthur supposes he thinks is casual. "It's nothing," he repeats. "I tripped, is all."

He is so obviously lying that for a moment the King is taken aback. "Merlin." What reason has he to lie? Who would target Merlin, for heaven's sake? The man couldn't hurt someone if he wanted to, which he definitely doesn't. His grip on his servant's shoulder tightens subconsciously. Who would hurt Merlin?

"It was a large trip."

As if that makes sense. Hot fury wells in the pit of his stomach as he sees the fear behind his friend's eyes. Who is he protecting? Arthur wants to hit something very, very badly. "Merlin. Who did this to you?"

"No one, I just tr-" Merlin's eyes widen as Arthur interrupts him.

"Tell the truth," the King forces through gritted teeth. Why won't he tell him?

Merlin shakes his head and won't meet his eyes.

He looks so small without the goofy grin spread across his face, Arthur thinks. Concern mixed with a roaring anger burns inside the King of Camelot. He moves his other hand to Merlin's other shoulder, offering the man no choice but to look at him. He takes a deep breath. "If somebody's hurting you, I want to know. _Nobody_," he stresses, "has the right to treat you this way."

As the words leave his mouth, Arthur suddenly remembers a younger version of himself, one who would not have balked at such treatment of a mere servant, who would never have thought the man in front of him as someone who _mattered_. Arthur nearly cringes at how wrong that self was. He is glad, so glad that Merlin barged into his life the way he had and changed the arrogant, blind boy he had been.

His friend's wide, striking blue eyes search his, looking for - what? But the moment passes, and Merlin's eyes steel in a tired sort of way. "It's nothing I can't handle, sire."

That statement, considering Merlin's current state, is so ridiculous that Arthur has to laugh. The spindly manservant, fighting off whoever did this to him? "Obviously not," he says aloud. "Come on, then, let's get you to Gaius. You can tell me on the way."

**Author's Note: Reviews are greatly appreciated, good or bad. If you see anything that needs to be fixed, anything at all, just shoot me a message.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Hello lovelies! So, I'm on "vacation" in New York right now - vacation being a ton of college tours and socializing with people I haven't seen since I was two. Ugh. Anyway, I'm sorry this chapter's short, but it was that or wait another week for when I'd have internet again. *Apologetic smile* Have some bromance to make up for it.**

Arthur stands and hauls the servant to his feet. The raven-haired man immediately suckers an arm around his middle and nearly collapses. "Here," Arthur says, and he promptly wraps his arm around Merlin's waist before the servant keels over altogether. He really is hurt, still coughing occasionally and breathing hard as they walk back to Gaius's.

"So," the king says once they have gone a ways, "Are you going to tell me now, or do I have to throw you in the stocks for a week?"

Merlin is silent for a long pause, and Arthur is about to threaten him again when he says suddenly, "_Sirs_ Robert and Kay." His voice, usually so cheerful that Arthur wants to throttle him, twists bitterly around the word "Sirs."

Arthur nearly stops in shock. "What?" There is no way his knights would do something like this, especially to someone as naive and innocent as Merlin. He pictures the two knights, both large, hulking men, towering over the helpless servant as they beat him and feels a rush of anger so intense he almost has to hit the wall. _Nobody_ hurt Merlin and got away with it. The knights will pay, damn the consequences.

"You heard what I said. Kay and Robert." The servant's voice as he responds matches the mocking half-smile on his face, and Arthur doesn't like it. Not at all.

A thought hits him suddenly. "Merlin? Is this the only time?"

"No."

"How long has this been going on?"

"A bit," Merlin responds shortly.

Arthur wonders for a second is his friend is mad at him for not noticing sooner, but he tosses that idea out quickly. Merlin couldn't be mad at anybody if he tried. In fact, he probably isn't even mad at the knights that beat him half to death. _Well_, Arthur thinks, _I'll just have to make up for it._ He's plenty angry enough for the both of them.

"Since when?"

"I don't remember."

This troubles Arthur more than he cares to admit, but Gaius's door swings open and Merlin is saved from further interrogation. Gaius takes one look at the pair and sighs. "On the cot," he says, waving them inside.

Arthur steps in and gently deposits Merlin on the cot. Merlin sits gratefully, a look of relief on his face.

"What happened?" Gaius bustles over to them, and Arthur steps out of the way.

Merlin doesn't answer, so Arthur clears his throat and does it for him. "He was attacked."

Gaius frown deepens as he looks the servant over. Poor Merlin winces every time the old man makes contact with his skin, even though his hands are exceedingly gentle with years of tending to the wounded. After a while of this, the king standing tense in the corner the whole time, Gaius nods. "Shirt off, I need to look at your ribs."

Surprisingly, Merlin, who had hitherto sat uncomplaining through the physician's assessment, shakes his head emphatically. "No," he says, his lips pressing together. Arthur realizes suddenly that there is no sign of Merlin's neckerchief.

"Merlin, I'm too old for this. Shirt off."

Arthur can see his friend's eyes have gone wide, but he can't tell whether it's in panic or resignation. He sighs heavily and in one movement tugs off the thin - too thin, it's the middle of the winter, no wonder he was shaking - shirt.

Gaius has seen too many injuries to so much as flinch at the colorful palette of bruises his ward's chest has become, but Arthur isn't. Dealing with battle wounds his entire life does not prepare the king for the swirling, irregular patterns of blue and yellow and green that decorate the servant, because instead of being on trained and hardened knights, these are on Merlin, defenseless Merlin...

Arthur's fists tighten convulsively. The bruises show long-term abuse; this isn't the first time Merlin has been beaten half to death.

"Oh Merlin," Gaius murmurs while Arthur works on controlling his breathing, "You should have told me."

The servant shrugs. "Didn't want you to worry."

"How long?" Arthur repeats. This is the question his mind has come back to. How long has Merlin been hurting right under his nose? Even as he watches the man on the cot, he is mentally replaying all his interactions with his servant over the past few weeks. Nothing seemed wrong - but how could he have been so negligent as to miss _this_?

And why wouldn't Merlin tell him? Is he really _that_ untrustworthy? Why-

Gaius chooses that moment to press gently on his ward's ribcage, and Merlin hisses. "I think it's broken," he says, voice forced through gritted teeth. Gaius nods again and moves to fetch wrappings.

Arthur doesn't miss the complete dismissal of his question. "Merlin, _how long_?"

"I told you, I don't remember," he grinds, but his face gives him away. Merlin's always been a terrible liar.

_He must not have been that bad, if he could hide_ this _from you_, an ugly little voice in the back of his head whispers. Arthur dismisses the voice angrily, but the words pound in his head. _He hid this. He hid this from me. I thought he trusted me._ Surely Merlin knows what Arthur thinks of him, even if he's never been too vocal about it. So he lets his anger fuel him and snorts, "Not good enough."

"I don't know, alright! A while."

"Mer-"

"Three months!" The servant shouts, springing to his feet. Arthur is shocked into silence. He winces, the pain in his ribs seeming to deflate him, and sags back onto the cot. "Three months," he repeats more softly. "The first times was the day after we returned from the wyvern hunt."

**Author's Note: There it was! I hope you liked it! As always, please please please review! Next chapter will be Merlin's POV. See you next week :)**


End file.
